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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25805911">the time now is</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/wr_015/pseuds/wr_015'>wr_015</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Red Velvet (K-pop Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, happy wenrene day</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 11:01:15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>638</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25805911</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/wr_015/pseuds/wr_015</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>joohyun yearns and overthinks but drinks coffee instead of alcohol.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bae Joohyun | Irene/Son Seungwan | Wendy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>16</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>the time now is</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>the clock reads 3:27 am.</p><p>it has been a while since you slept last. your eyes are bleary and heavy, bloodshot with a tinge of delirious. you despise coffee and yet, it was the only thing that has kept you company. the least you could do is honor its companionship with a few sips. a few shots? or has it already been a few cups? </p><p> </p><p>the clock reads 3:42 am.</p><p>the world is fast asleep and yet you lie awake still, staring at a screen, willing it to consume you whole. you check your phone again- a worthless pursuit. you would have been notified of any incoming messages anyway. still you do, and the empty notification bar taunts you. she left you on read five days ago. you've been moping about it for four days, twenty three hours, and forty six minutes. </p><p>forty seven. </p><p>forty eight.</p><p>forty nine...</p><p> </p><p>the clock reads 3:58 am.</p><p>you put on your old trusty headphones. you've reached the point where earphones just don't cut it anymore. they start to hurt your ears when used for an extended period of time, and you apparently wear them enough now for it to hurt. had it been any other day, you would have laughed at the irony of it all, cruelty even, but for now you tell yourself it has nothing to do with the fact that your most favored pair was a gift from her. </p><p>you almost believe it.</p><p> </p><p>the clock reads 4:11 am.</p><p>you can't remember exactly how many cakes you've watched get iced or how many ears you've watched get pierced but you keep on watching anyway. a constant stream of unfamiliar voices has been something you rely on to drown out too familiar ones. whispers of <em>"joohyun unnie"</em> get softer the more voices you listen to but they don't go away. not entirely, at least. they sit there at the back of your mind- along with the bells and chimes of her laughter, the lilt and cadence of her songs. so you turn the volume up, flick that active noise cancelling switch on, and pray to any god who will listen to "please, just... please." </p><p> </p><p>the clock reads 5:18.</p><p>your phone lights up with a notification. you give it a glance and your heart skips a beat, maybe two. warmth rises to your cheeks until your whole being is set aflame. just like that, five days, one hour, and 22 minutes of moping evaporates until a giddy smile breaks out of your face. </p><p>which inevitably falls as you decide to ignore it. </p><p>she might be pretty and wonderful and amazing and just absolutely beautiful but maybe you'd be petty this time around.</p><p>maybe then she'd miss you, too. maybe then she'd think of you, too. </p><p>or maybe she won't care. and by the time you respond, she won't remember you at all.</p><p> </p><p>the clock reads 5:19.</p><p>you managed to ignore it for a minute.</p><p>6:19. an hour.</p><p>9:19. three hours.</p><p>10:19. four.</p><p>11:19. five.</p><p>you start feeling better. yeah, maybe you can get over this stupid crush. </p><p> </p><p>the clock reads 11:26.</p><p>you shuffle over to your bed to try and sleep it off. you are annoyed by your wakelessness. you scoff at your last empty cup. in the end, caffeine is overrated. you suddenly miss the drag of nicotine. she is not very fond of the smoke but it's not like she wants you anyway.</p><p>it's not like you'll confess to anything anyway. </p><p>still, you decide to be honest this one time. feeling a little brave few moments before sleep takes,</p><p>"i've been thinking. about you."</p><p> </p><p>the clock reads 12:48.</p><p>you are dead to the world and your phone lights up with a notification, </p><p>
  <em>"you've been on my mind, too."</em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>happy wenrene day!</p><p>please do read the other joyrene/wenrene thing if you are up for it but fair warning, it's quite angst-ish. <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25806220">the time now is (reprise)</a>. </p><p>thanks a lot, and stay safe everyone!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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